Antarctica, A Pleasant Surprise

 

We started the morning of Day 3 at sea under gray clouds with howling winds and freezing temperatures, this evening it is a different story in many ways.

From inside my cabin I can see the weather has improved dramatically. There are now blue skies as I take in a port hole view of a frigid, rugged and snow covered island that I cannot wait to step foot on.

 

 

In a surprise to all of us, some time around 7pm a clanking, grinding noise can be heard coming from the front of the Akademik Ioffe.

 

 

 

The Ioffe has come to a complete stop and it's anchors are being lowered to the ocean floor. The public address system blares announcements in Russian apparently from the ship's Captain.

Then comes a language that most of us could understand. With an underlying excitement in her voice our Expedition Leader Lynn announces that we will be making our first landing in Antarctica.

This will be a brief landing and it will be done shortly after dinner. However, you can only imagine the exhilaration this brings.

We will be making a landing sooner than most of us expected. A dream now even closer to coming true.

 

 

 

 

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